It's April... Update time!

I soft of updated this kind of thing a few days ago after a few months hiatus from the forum. But , long story short I'm eating well still , weight's fine, hitting the gym regularly , and taking brazilian jiu-sitsu for the last few months. Generally all is mostly well...no major problems since I got ot of my 15 day hospital stay in August. I've been off prednisone for several months and yeah. Not too bad right now. I hope everyone else's resolutions are working out nicely ? :)

man oh man. life is just fantastic. dont feel any active crohns symptoms. still off my meds. i am now doing everything i was before surgery in 2005 (surfing, tai chi, weight training, etc) and i am doing it better than ever! my energy levels are up, my strength is up, and i dont have the inconentant problems. diet is working great. and i'm with matthew on the whole dating scene thing. been in my own little world for far too long, especially the last 3 years...

my identical twin brother (yes identical twin - but lucky him no crohns) just got married last weekend and that it was great to be there and not have any hang ups due to active disease so i was actually able to enjoy the wedding and deliver what everybody says was the longest and easily the best best man speech they ever heard. so yeah, i'm still stoked on seeing my bro getting married.

Hey, this is wonderful! Matthew, firemedic and Harry, it's great to see some good news here for a change.

Crohn'snme, I'm sorry you're unwell. But really, getting out of bed is an AMAZING start when you're feeling terrible. Good for you.

I got a bit slack for a while due to a virus and some unseasonably horrible weather, but I've started swimming again, even if though I'm finding it hard to walk at times. Oh, and I gave up sugar and cut back on chocolate for Lent and then tried a chocolate egg on Easter Sunday and thought it tasted terrible, so it looks like I'm cured of chocolate cravings... for the time being, anyway.

On the bad front, I'm eating lots of white potatoes again but will reform... eventually...



Anyone else? Fitzy, any diet stories to share?

I.

I resolved to change things up with my workouts, so my body doesn't get used to my routine and to cut out sugar. I also vowed to be more open minded about my crohn's issues so here's where I am today......

I will be having my 2nd fistula plug surgery at the end of the month. I will be having 2 fistulas plugged. I know that my 1st plug failed but my surgeon is very hopeful for a few reasons:

1. I am on remicade now and I wasn't the last time the procedure was done

2. She uses sheep intestines as the plug and my last surgeon used fibrin glue (she stopped using that 6 yrs. ago)

3. The fistulas are actually healing quite nicely with the seton drains and the remicade

I am much happier as a patient at a big city hospital instead of living the suburban medical nightmare that I have been living for the past 8 yrs. or so. I am confident in my surgeon so I believe I will have a positive outcome.

I did really well after my abscess I & D and seton placement in January-I was back to my workout routine in less than 3 weeks! I will have to stop working out for about 4-6 weeks while I heal from the plug,though. It is very painful and a long recovery as far as rectal surgery goes, so I am not looking forward to giving up my stress reliever but nothing ventured,nothing gained. Maybe it will be 1 step closer to that baby I am hoping to make.

Still haven't cut out the sugar but I cut down a little. I still should cut out more but I'm an addict,what can I say?

Best of luck to everyone!

I'm wondering if it would be possible to run a little again? As I said elsewhere, the back is still a BIG concern. But maybe 2-3 miles a couple times a week if I could get into the right shape? Will have to discuss this with my doctors.
Yeah, its nice to hear good news every now & again.

Matthew

I could start that, but I don't really want to pay for Gym use. But it is a great idea, except I'm staying in one place. When I was a near fanatic runner I couldn't even run on a regular olympic track. The problem? BOREDOM. I have to have changes of scenery & surfaces. But your idea may be a start. I'm already able to bike ( Even on my Tramadol) with no major problems. Was stiff the first couple of times. Really, my main concern there is the accursed kidneystones. But I should still have some months of safety. & maybe Urocrit will work. Fingers crossed.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will seriously consider it.

Matthew

I am being a complete and utter bum about exercising/weights right now. Need a kick in the Kiester!

Hey Ivy -
I missed this post before because I didn't really consider it a "New Years" thing. But I have no idea actually when my husband started the diet. Sometime in January. We aren't really "on" the diet anymore but I did learn a lot from it and I do try to cut the carbs and sugars and up the proteins and fibers. I never used to think twice about it before. However, my current lifestyle is really cramping my healthy eating. I still eat what I consider "crohns" healthy but not really truly healthy. Crazyharry- your post hit home that said something about being to lazy or whatever to make the change. I guess I wouldn't call myself lazy just insanely busy. I have a 45 minute commute, am a full time law student, work part time, and have a husband, dog, and cat to care for. I have also had to travel a lot lately. So even though I would love to make some slow cook oatmeal for breakfast I have had to settle for protein bars, yogurt, or a bowl of cereal. I am back to eating sandwiches at lunch but that is lazy I guess. I could double my dinner cooking and bring some the next day. But I dont cook, my husband does so ... just another excuse lol.

I had lunch with my boss today and he said he was amazed at how well I was doing with my stomach. I sometimes forget that they saw me at my worst. When I told my husband he said "so is he saying your fat?" I know he (my husband) was totally kidding but then I thought... gee, how does he know? Do I really complain that much?? But I am one of those people that wear my heart on my sleeve and for some reason they ALWAYS know when I feel icky.

I have been doing kind of well in the exercise department. Before I went to Singapore I was hitting the gym some. Its amazing what a motivator a bikini and beach are. While there we did a TON of walking and I came back about 5 pounds lighter. So I am making an effort to seriously walk my dog every day, sometimes twice. And when I have a long break at school and I'm not getting any work done, I throw on my sneakers and walk. We have a beautiful loop that is a 5K around a bay (where the CCFA walk is held!) I walked there from school and did it and walked back yesterday which is about 5 miles total probably. I really enjoy walking now and don't feel like it is a sorry excuse for exercise anymore. That is my old distance runner mentality. I just have to walk further and longer than I would run and it works out about the same. Plus my dog is SO happy. I just wish I didn't have the commute and could walk her on those breaks during the school day too.